


Set Her Free

by SkadiLothbrok



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Mystery, Possession, Self-Loathing, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-23 02:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30048429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkadiLothbrok/pseuds/SkadiLothbrok
Summary: Something happens one quiet night that will change your life for ever. Whether this change will be for better or worse is yet to be seen though.
Relationships: Eskel (The Witcher)/Reader, Eskel/Reader
Kudos: 4





	1. The Clown

"You are such a clown Y/n" Jaskier shook his head at you with an amused smile. You stuck your tongue out at him in response and busied yourself with your mead once more. He had hit the nail on the head hadn't he. You were the clown of the group, never wanting to be serious because you used humour to hide how insecure you were really feeling. 

Ask anyone who knew you and they would all say what a laugh you were. How funny you were. How you never took things seriously. Of course that was all because that was how you portrayed yourself. 

In reality, you were breaking into pieces each and every day. Tearing yourself apart, full of self loathing and scorn for your pathetic self. You constantly overthought even the littlest of things. Like now as you watched Jaskier talking with Lambert and Ciri you wondered if they despised the fact that Jaskier had brought you along. 

Across the room, you watched as Triss laughed along with Vesemir and Geralt at something. You wished that you could engage in conversation as easily as that. Yennefer might have been a litle standoffish but she still stood speaking happily with Eskel by the doorway. You should find an excuse to leave. 

Just as you decided that you'd say you had a headache and needed to go lie down, a cold blast shot through the room. Within seconds, the rest of the room was in a defensive position. Ciri and Lambert were quick to stand and put themselves between you and Jaskier and whatever was coming. Slowly standing from your seat, you cautiously awaited the mystery intruder with keen eyes. 

The silence that followed the initial blast was deafening. The group all drifted together as they kept waiting eyes on the corridor that the blast had emerged from. Your heart hammered in your chest as you held your breath in some weird attempt at silence. 

The next blast came so fast that not even the Witchers were fast enough. A dark smoke flew through the air and circled around the ceiling, seemingly searching for something. "What the fuck is that?" Ciri asked aloud.

Before anybody even had chance to answer her question, the creature emitted an awful screeching sound. Cupping your hands over your ears barely helped to block it out and you felt sorry for those with more sensitive hearing than yours. 

'Y/n" you were caught off guard when you heard the strange hiss of your own name. Slowly the screeching dimmed down in your ears and you were able to stand straight once more. But a look around the room told you that it was only you experiencing this. "Come to me Y/n" the hissing voice came once more and you felt oddly compelled to do as it said. 

Drifting forward with your eyes fixed on the swirling mass, you were stopped when a hand grabbed your arm. You turned to see Eskel looking at you with a confused and questioning gaze as he tried to focus through the pain. Blood trickled from his ears and his teeth were gritted in pain but his hold on you was firm. 

"Y/n!" the voice had you snapping your eyes back to the creature "come to me. Join me. I can help you".

"Y/n" you heard your name fall from Eskel's lips this time and you briefly turned back to him before the pull from the creature strengthened and your head felt fuzzy. Eskel seemed to realise something was happening to you and pulled you closer back towards him. 

The creature clearly didn't appreciate this though as all of the windows burst inwards in a shower of glass and the wind in the room whipped around like a hurricane. "You are mine!" the screeching voice reached your ears before the dark cloud descended towards you. 

\---

Eskel had no idea what this creature was. The closest thing it bore similarity to was a Djinn but that wasn't quite right. His confusion only grew as Y/n tried to walk past him as if to approach the thing. The piercing sound didn't seem to reach her ears and there was a look to her that seemed almost possessed.

He'd hoped for a moment that he'd snapped her out of it when he grabbed her but soon enough her attention was drawn back to the undulating mass on the ceiling. Calling out her name had her eyes back to him but then the creature acted.

It flew down from the ceiling and knocked into Y/n like a stampede of cattle. She was snatched from his grip and pinned to the ground. This all happened in seconds though and even as they all moved towards her the smoky mass seemed to dissipate into her body. Her body writhed until the smoke disappeared and she fell still. 

"What the fuck" Jaskier yelled as he rushed to get to Y/n. Triss caught him and stopped him from getting closer as she frowned at Y/n's prone form. They all waited with bated breaths for something to happen. Eskel could still hear Y/n's beating heart and see the slight rise and fall of her chest so at least she wasn't dead. 

Being the closest to her, he cautiously took a step forward. No sooner had he done so though did her eyes flash open, filled by an obsidian black. Eskel stopped and tightened his grip on his sword. A wicked grin came over Y/n's face as she got to her feet.

"What are you?" Vesemir was first to speak. Y/n - or not Y/n anymore Eskel corrected himself - tilted her head to the side slightly like a curious animal. "What have you done to Y/n?" Vesemir pushed for answers.

A wider grin spread over Y/n's face at this "I've saved her... set her free".

"If you've killed her" Ciri growled out as she raised her sword.

The creature possessing Y/n grinned wider at this before giving a slight nod of her head. Just like that, Ciri's sword went flying from her hand and clattered to a stop across the room. Her gaze then fell onto Eskel and she closed the distance between them and seemed to size him up. "Is she still alive?" Eskel managed to ask. 

There was a slight pause before he got his answer "she is. Though she is but my passenger".

"You said you saver her?" Eskel asked "From what?"

"Herself of course" the creature smiled as though this was obvious "from her sad little meaningless life".

"Y/n isn't sad" Jaskier spoke up and earned himself a brief glance "she's the happiest person I know".

A laugh left Y/n's lips at that "you are wrong. Y/n loathes herself, hates her very existence. But now she is with me. I will give her purpose... power where she had none".

"She doesn't want this" Eskel spoke once more. When those empty black eyes met his, he frowned.

"But she does" the creature said "she wished for a purpose. To not be weak. I have given her that".

"And now what?" Geralt asked with a cold glare.

"Well that's all part of the fun isn't it" the creature smirked "finding out the answer to that question". Then just like that, Y/n's eyes closed and her body began to crumple to the ground. Eskel was quick enough to catch her, dropping his sword to the ground as he did so. As he held her unconscious form he turned to meet the confused faces of the others.


	2. Lie To Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Y/n doesn't know can't hurt her... right?

You woke up in a warm bed with a throbbing headache. Opening your eyes with a wince you jolted slightly when you spotted Triss and Yennefer both looking over you. Sitting upright you frowned "what are you guys doing here?"

The two of them shared a look before Triss turned to you "what's the last thing you remember?" 

You found it to be a strange question "ugh, we were all drinking" you began "and I got a headache, so I came to lay down for a bit". The two of them shared another look and you grew self conscious "did something happen?"

"Yes-No" they spoke at the same time, Triss saying yes and Yen saying no. Your frown deepened at this until Yen spoke up again "Triss only means that Geralt got embarrassingly drunk" she reasoned.

"Okay" you rubbed at your neck awkwardly "well that's not exactly news" you laughed "so why are you both here? Missed me too much?" you joked to try and disguise your awkwardness.

"It's nothing" Yen grabbed Triss' arm and they both stood up "just wanted to check on you".

"Oh, uh, thanks I guess" you shrugged "but it really is just a bit of a headache". Yen gave a slight smile and a nod before pulling Triss out of your room after her. 

You couldn't help but feel like they'd been hiding something from you. It better not have been another one of Lambert's stupid dares you thought as you frantically checked that your hair hadn't been cut again. It took months for that bit of hair to grow back after last time. Nothing was amiss though and you found yourself thinking over what they could've possibly been in your room for.

\---

"What was that!?" Triss scolded as soon as they were far enough away that you wouldn't hear them "she need's to know".

"No she doesn't" Yen was quick to reply "if she doesn't remember what happened then maybe nothing will change".

"Did you not feel the Chaos in her?" Triss shot back "that thing is still inside her and you plan to just what... ignore it?"

"Look" Yen stopped walking and turned to face her "whatever it is, it seems to want to play some sort of game with Y/n. If she doesn't know it's even there then she will be better off".

"What if something happens?"

"Then we'll deal with it when it does" Yen snapped.

Triss sighed and shook her head at her friend "you saw how powerful that thing was. What if we can't deal with it?" Yen didn't answer but a frown took over her face. Realising that she wasn't going to convince Yen, Triss shook her head with a sigh "we should let the other's know then I suppose".

\---

You weren't sure why you hadn't taken your clothes from last night off before getting into bed, but you shrugged it off before grabbing a fresh pair of bottoms and a clean shirt for the day. Brushing out your hair and washing your face, you took a deep breath and headed down for breakfast. 

As soon as you entered the kitchen the room fell silent and all eyes turned on you. Geralt, Ciri, Yen and Eskel sat around the table and Jaskier stood over the cooking pot. "Do I really look that bad?" you joked to try and shift the mood as you strolled over to Jaskier. 

He seemed to tense up as you neared him "seriously, what's wrong?" you frowned. You noticed him glance over to the others before answering you. Had they been talking about you? Your mind started to spiral.

"It's nothing" Jaskier shrugged "we're just hungover" he laughed lightly before passing you a bowl "you hungry?"

Pushing your doubts down, you took the bowl before moving to sit with the others "so what did I miss last night?" You dug into your food but didn't miss the way they all shared a quick look. 

"Not much" Ciri shrugged as she kept her eyes focused on her own food.

"Yeah, pretty boring really" Geralt assured you. He too seemed to refuse to meet your eyes as he spoke to you.

"You feel better?" Eskel asked. He seemed to be the only one who was actually willing to meet your eyes and you felt caught off guard momentarily. 

You shrugged off his concern "I'm fine, it was just a bit of a headache" you assured him "probably been cooped up inside too long" you laughed "what's this outside that people talk about again?"

"Maybe we can go for a walk later" Jaskier offered "or take the horses".

"Maize is still lame remember" you reminded him of your poor mare "you rode her too hard racing Lambert" you pointed your spoon at him accusationally. 

He rolled his eyes at you "I've apologised again and again". You grinned to yourself, glad that the tension seemed to be leaving once more. "You can ride with me?"

"No way" you scoffed "you ride like a child and Pegasus doesn't like carrying one person, let alone two".

"You could borrow Scorpion if you like?" Eskel surprised you with the offer.

Thinking it over for a moment you had to admit you'd been dying to see if Scorpion was as quick as Eskel claimed. "Only if you're sure" you checked with him. 

He simply shrugged before standing and taking his bowl to the sink "he could use a good ride, I've not been out in a while so you'd be doing me a favour really".

"Okay" you agreed happily "thank you". Eskel offered you a simple nod in acknowledgement before leaving the room.

\---

Jaskier and Y/n were just riding down the path when Geralt caught Eskel staring out over the walls "you took Scorpion out just the other morning".

"So?" Eskel crossed his arms over his chest as he turned to face Geralt.

"So you lied to Y/n".

"Isn't that what we're all doing?" Eskel snapped back more angrily than intended. Geralt looked away from him with a frown. "She should know Geralt".

"What good would that do?" Geralt asked patiently "whatever this thing is, it's dormant at the moment. It gives us time to find a way to kill it". Noticing that Eskel still seemed angry Geralt turned back to him "what's really bothering you?"

Eskel sighed before shaking his head "do you think it was telling the truth? About Y/n?"

"I don't think that really matters right now" Geralt answered before realising Eskel seemed particularly bothered by this. "Look, I know that you like her but there's not a lot we can do right now until we find out what this thing is" he patted Eskel's shoulder.

Eskel was left stood opening and closing his mouth a few times as Geralt strolled away with a grin on his face. He'd been attracted to you since Jaskier had introduced you the previous year. You always seemed so bright and happy, how could that all be a lie? And how could none of them have noticed if it was?

\---

The wind flowing through your air put a smile on your face as you glanced back at Jaskier who was a fair distance behind you. Leaning closer to Scorpion you urged him on the last bit before you reached the designated finish point. He was by far the fastest horse you'd ever ridden and a thrill like no other shot through you. 

You reached the river in record time and leapt down from the saddle, giving Scorpion a pat on the neck and reaching into your pack for an apple. "You were so fast boy" you handed him the apple as you waited for Jaskier to catch up. 

A rustling sound caught your ears from a nearby bush and you carefully made your way over to it. As you pulled back some of the foliage though, you found a small bird struggling around on the floor.

As you moved in to get a closer look though, it stopped struggling about and rushed from the bush and past your face with a loud screech. You fell backwards in shock as you watched the creature disappear into the sky. Your heartrate was beating away from the shock and you stood and made your way over to the lake to splash some cold water on your face.

As you leaned over to scoop some up though you gasped in shock. Your normally y/e/c eyes were pitch black. The sound of hooves snapped you back to reality and you spun to see Jaskier finally arriving at the finish line. 

Figuring you must've been seeing things you looked back at the water's surface to find that your eyes were normal in colour. "Took you long enough" you teased as you stood and moved closer "we were beginning to think you'd turned and gone back".

\---

Jaskier tried to convince himself that he'd imagined the receeding darkness in your eyes as he'd arrived at the clearing. There was also the fact that you looked worried about something. But if he asked about it you might ask more questions of your own and he hated lying to you. "I'm pretty sure you cheated" he commented instead.

"What! How?" you laughed incredulously.

"You got a head start" he shrugged before giving you a playful push. 

"Whatever" you shoved him back before turning and heading for the lake. His smile dropped as soon as you were turned away from him. He certainly hadn't imagined the small shock that ran through him as you'd touched him. It was like an ice cold blast shooting along his arm. He'd have to talk to the others about it when you got back but it didn't seem like you'd even noticed anything so he'd ignore it for now too.

\---

As she rode back into the keep - before Jaskier of course - y/n had a smile on her face. Eskel made a show of being busy with something as she dismounted and made her way over. "Y/n" Eskel turned and sent you a smile before reaching and patting Scorpions neck "have a nice ride?"

"Yeah" she answered with a wide smile "you weren't joking, Scorpion's gotta be the fastest horse around" Eskel laughed lightly at the comment "no offense Maize" she turned to see her own mare. 

"Here, I'll sort him for you" Eskel reached out for Scorpions reins "I've been meaning to give him a good brush down". As he took hold of the reins his finger's brushed against hers slightly and a wave of energy shot through him. He let go of the reins and took a shaky step back as he tried to overcome the sensation.

\---

"Eskel?" you weren't sure what had happened but he seemed to be in pain "are you alright?" You reached out to touch him but he flinched slightly from your touch, making you pull your hand back to your chest. You knew that none of the Witchers were big on touching but you didn't realise that your touch was that repulsive. "Should I go get somebody?"

"No, it's uh" Eskel straightened once more and made an effort to hide the frown from his face as he looked at you "sorry, just an old wound playing up". You could tell that he was lying to try not ot hurt your feelings.

"Okay" you carefully handed him Scorpion's reins before taking a step back from him "well, I hope you feel better soon". Before he could say anything else, you did him a favour and left. 

It would probably have hurt less if it hadn't been Eskel. Despite knowing that he would never hold any interest in you, you harboured a crush on him. He always made an effort to be polite to you and you sometimes suspected that it might be because he knew about your feelings and felt sorry for you.

His repulsion to your touch just then, only seemed to confirm your suspicions. 'You're such an idiot' you told yourself as anger started to replace your sadness. 'Why would anybody love you?' 'So pathetic'. 

The window that you were walking past on your way to your room suddenly exploded inwards. Pushing yourself back into the opposite wall you stared in shock at the broken glass. Coming to your senses a little more, you looked up and down the corridor and saw nobody. Without further thought, you took off in a run for your room. 

\---

Eskel hated the look of hurt on her face. He hated even more that he'd caused it. But he was still trying to make sense of what had happened when Y/n had touched him. His medalion was still humming slightly like an aftershock. And it seemed as though Y/n hadn't even noticed anything. 

As she'd ran off, Jaskier had entered the stables. "Eskel, something happened when we were out".

"What was it?" Eskel made quick work of removing Scorpion's tack and shutting him into a stable. 

"It was only for a moment" Jaskier began "I was still catching up and she was looking at the lake or something and then..."

"To the point Jaskier" Eskel cut him off before he could go off onto a tangent.

"Her eyes" he sighed "her eyes were black, but only for a moment". Eskel frowned as he took in this information. Wasting no more time, he took off in a run after y/n. He'd caught up with her just in time to see the broken window and a scared look on y/n's face before she ran away.

He knew in that moment that they would have to tell her the truth.


End file.
